Istanbul Tours Review

A review of the half and one day tours from Istanbul

Half and one day tours have been quite popular among tourists in the past few years. The tourist would often go on a trip or a cruise that is organized by a travel agent to his proffered destination.

The first advantage of half and one day tours is that it enables the guest to explore a city, a region, or a historical site that he wishes to visit and which is not included in his travel package.

You can never cover all the remarkable monuments and interesting highlights of a certain destination only in one trip. If the travel checks up his travel guidebook he will surely find a place, not included in his travel itinerary, that he thinks it's interesting enough and that he should pay this place a visit. This is why travel agents give free time to their guests to enable them to discover more sites which they choose.

Now let's think of the other option which is going on a perfectly organized half or one day tour. The guest will find the finest most comfortable vehicle waiting for him in the spot that he prefers. His long experienced high educated tour guide will greet him.

Afterwards, the guest will be transferred to his desired destination and spend a marvelous time with his tour guide telling him valuable information, explanation, and historical facts. At the end of the tour, the guest will be transferred once again to his preferred location. The guest will not have to look for best prices or the most convenient transportation means. We will provide out guests with best services, transportation, and finest competitive prices.

Half and one day tours in Turkey

We present our guests with wonderful half and full day tours while they are on their cruise arriving in Istanbul. Usually the cruise ship spends one or two days in landing in the port.

This would a marvelous chance for travelers to explore some of the magical sites and regions located in Istanbul. Our one half and one day tours in Istanbul are comfortable, convenient, secured, exciting, and we offer them with the best competitive prices in the market.

Half Day Istanbul Classical Tour 1  

 This is truly the "Classical Tour" of Istanbul as it consists of exploring the most popular and remarkable highlights of the city. Many travelers would love to go on this tour every day. 

This half day trip magically mingles the Christian and Islamic history of Istanbul plus a marvelous shopping opportunity in one of the most famous touristic markets in the world.

The trip consists of visiting the famous Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia Museum, and the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul.

The itinerary of the trip

1. Our tour starts in the morning or in the afternoon at the Istanbul port, at an exact location that we will specify to make it easier for the guest.
2. Our well trained highly educated tour guides will be awaiting the arrival of guests to greet them and give them a simple orientation of the itinerary of the day
3. After the meet and greet, the guests will ride in our comfortable modern AC Vehicles to start their amazing tour
4. The first stop of the day will be to the famous Blue Mosque, which was built in 1616 and since that year, it became a unique landmark of Istanbul. Popular for its marvelous interior design, multiple domes, and distinctive Ottoman style minarets
5. The second visit will be to the Hagia Sophia Museum, one of the most splendid and largest remarkable Christian monuments in the world. This wonderful domed Basilica with its wonderful decoration has served as an important Christian center until the year 1453
6. At the end of this amazing tour, its time for more shopping and more excitement in the Grand Bazaar, of Istanbul. The Grand Bazaar, founded by first Ottoman leader to rule over Turkey, Mohamed the conqueror, in 1453, is considered to be the largest touristic market in the world. The Bazaar offers a huge variety of gifts and products that any traveler might think of.
7. After the best tour ever, the guests will be transferred to the Istanbul Port at the end of the trip.  

About the Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque was built in the period between 1609 and 1616 by Sultan Ahmed who was buried in the mosque after his death.

The mosque is located in the most ancient section of Istanbul, which is Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. It is situated near the Hippodrome, in front of the Hagia Sophia Church, and a walking distance from the Top Kapi Palace.

The position of the mosque was chosen to face the Hagia Sophia Church as Sultan Ahmed wanted to compete with the great architecture of the Hagia Sophia. He wanted to erect a larger dome and higher minaret. However, he didn't succeed in this but he was able to construct a splendid structure.

The Blue Mosque got this name from the West who gave the Sultan Ahmed this description because of the remarkable blue interior design of the Mosque.  The Blue Mosque is one of the most notable monuments in Istanbul that is included in all Turkey tours.  

About Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia is the finest example of Byzantine in the whole world. The structure was constructed by Emperor Justinian I in the period between 532 and 537 AD in Istanbul or Constantinople, the Byzantine capital at the time.

In the period between 558 and 563, the dome was rebuilt because the original dome was destroyed due to an earth quake. After around 1000 years, when the Ottomans conquered the city, Hagia Sophia was transformed to become a mosque by adding a Minbar, some Islamic decorations, and a number of minarets.

At the end of its long history, the structure was opened as a public museum in 1935 and nowadays Hagia Sophia is part of any Istanbul tours.   

The word Hagia Sophia refers to the goddess of wisdom in ancient Greek civilization.

Hagia Sophia was beautifully decorated from inside with the best types of marbles and mosaics that were used to ornamented the walls and the great dome. These features were long covered by the Turks when they used the structure as a mosque and it was then revealed preserving its beauty. 

About the Grand Bazaar

This market that consists mainly of busy streets covered with thousands of shops and stores selling all sorts gifts and products. This market was established by Mohamed the conqueror in 1453 after he opened the city as the leader of the Ottoman armies.

The grand bazaar hosts numerous shops selling leather, traditional Turkish costumes, Turkish sweets and delights, ceramics, rugs and carpets, jewelry, and different types of gifts and souvenirs.

There are many landmarks inside the market like the marble fountain that once provided the bazaar with fresh water 300 years in the past. Many traditional cafes are spread all over the bazaar and they are the best resort for travelers after a remarkable walk in the market.  Many Istanbul holiday package include a marvelous tour of the market.

Half Day Istanbul Classical Tour 2  

This is one of the most remarkable half day tours we offer in Istanbul as it give the chance to our valuable guests to view two of the most famous highlights of the city.

This one day trip in Turkey would be a marvelous chance for travelers from all ages to view the greatness of the remarkable city of Istanbul.   

Istanbul, being the seat of the government of many empires and dynasties, host a large number of various monuments dating back to different periods of time.

This trip consists of visiting the Byzantine Hippodrome and the Topkapi Palace in one of the most wonderful and perfectly organized escorted Turkey tours. 

The itinerary of the trip

1. Our tour starts in the morning or in the afternoon at the Istanbul port, at an exact location that we will specify to make it easier for the guest.
2. Our well trained highly educated tour guides will be awaiting the arrival of guests to greet them and give them a simple orientation of the itinerary of the day
3. After the meet and greet, the guests will ride in our comfortable modern AC Vehicles to start their amazing tour
4. The first stop of the day will be to the Hippodrome of the Byzantine Empire was where most of the political activities used to take place. This was beside it was the most important avenue of sports for all the peoples of the time.
5. The second visit will be to the Topkapi Palace, one of the most remarkable royal residences of Istanbul. Located near the Bosporus strait, this marvelous piece of architectural art was the home of many Ottoman kings
6. After the best tour ever, the guests will be transferred to the Istanbul Port at the end of the trip.  

About the Hippodrome

Little is actually left of this gigantic stadium which once stood at the center of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. This Hippodrome was originally constructed by Emperor Septimus Severus when he was rebuilding the city during the 3rd century AD.

Afterwards, Emperor Constantine I, the great builder of the Byzantine Empire, enlarged the structure as part of his renovation of the whole city.

The Hippodrome is thought that it used to hold up to 10000 viewers. Nowadays, the Hippodrome has been transformed into a public garden that hosts many remains of the original structure.  There are some remarkable arches of the curved end of the Hippodrome. There are also some Egyptian obelisks and Greek columns decorating this historical site nowadays.

The Egyptian Obelisk standing in the Garden of the Hippodrome now was built around 1500 BC and it was standing in front of the Luxor Temple in Egypt for ages until Constantine I brought it from Egypt to ornament his city.

There is also the Serpentine Column that was constructed around 479 BC and it was brought from Delphi to decorate Constantinople during the Ottoman period. The Hippodrome is one of the most remarkable historical sites of Istanbul that is added to many Turkey Private Tours.      

About the Topkapi Palace

Topkapi is located in the heart of old Istanbul situated in a classical atmosphere with large trees and different types of plants surrounding it. The Topkapi Palace contains a unique collection of antiquities that were gathered from different regions of the Ottoman Empire in various eras of time.

This palace was used as the center and the residence of the Ottoman Sultans for more than 380 years. The Topkapi Palace is one of the most important Ottoman royal residences in Istanbul and in the reign of Abdel Hamid I (1823 - 1861) and Sultan Abdel Aziz (1830 – 1876) have opened parts of this amazing palace for visitors to view. T
Topkapi Palace, one of the most wonderful and most ancient royal palaces in the world, was officially opened for public as a museum starting the year 1924.

The Topkapi Palace used to have thirteen gates but only a few of them remained until today. The most important gate that is still present until today is the "Humayum Gate" or the imperial gate that is situated near the Sultan Ahmed Sabil near Hagia Sophia facing the sea.

This is the major gate of the palace and it was constructed in the reign of the Mohamed the conqueror and it was restored and renovated many times afterwards in different regions of time.  Many Turkey Vacation packages include a visit to the Topkapi Palace.

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